Jamee Smith

Director, Elaine Frank Apachi

Jamee Smith has been with Apachi J Camp for 25 years and every year she still counts down the days until camp begins. She began as a counselor and quickly realized she wanted to be a part of Apachi J Camp year-round. Jamee feels lucky to be the Director of Elaine Frank Apachi because not only does she see all the big smiles on campers’ faces each day, she also gets to watch her campers and staff grow and change over the course of each summer. Her favorite thing about Elaine Frank Apachi is watching the relationships form between campers and staff because Jamee knows those bonds are magical.

Jamee holds a B.S. in Broadcast Journalism from the University of Kansas and a Master’s degree in Teaching from National Louis University. When she is not at work, she loves spending time with her family, walking her dog, Jack, listening to music, knitting, reading, and exercising.

Sample 50/50 block

Overnight Camp

Try Chi

Try Chi is our 4-day, 3-night overnight camp experience for 2nd-6th graders at Camp Chi in Lake Delton, WI. Campers meet new friends and live in cabins with experienced, caring counselors who help them feel comfortable right away. They’ll feel the spirit of camp with cookouts, campfires, sing-alongs and great evening programs.

Combine Apachi J Camp with Camp Chi

Apachi STEM Details

Optional round-trip bus transportation for campers living within our designated boundaries is available for a fee. Bus pick-up and drop-off locations are a combination of door-to-door, corner and cluster stops. Locations are determined based on registration and routes are designed to be as efficient as possible. Routes may change from summer to summer depending on enrollment. Buses are driven by licensed, professional drivers, and staffed by Apachi bus counselors who make sure campers stay buckled in their seats at all times.

Campers can also carpool to and from camp using our convenient carpool lanes. To make camp pick-up as efficient as possible, we assign each car or carpool a number that we can use to quickly match campers with their rides. Sweet, simple and safe! All campers in carpools are escorted to and from their cars by our staff. The carpool form can be accessed on CampInTouch.

Food

A pizza lunch is provided on Tuesdays and there is a hotdog cookout every Friday. The remainder of the week, please send along a sack lunch that we’ll refrigerate.

Food allergies

Safety and inclusion are top priorities at JCC Chicago Day Camps. Our camps are committed to being allergy-safe. While our camps are not allergen-free, we strive to make our camp environments as safe as possible for children with food allergies using a customized approach and working closely with each family to develop an action plan for the child. More information can be found here.

Immunizations & Health Forms

To participate in camp, campers must have a completed health form signed by a physician on file. We also require documentation of immunizations.

The nurse, is in

Our full-time registered nurse is on-site all summer to treat minor injuries and prescribe campers a little “tlc” when needed. If your child visits the nurse, you will receive a note describing the treatment. In the rare event of a serious injury, you will be notified immediately and, if you are unavailable, we will contact those on your emergency calling list.

Please Note: Ages and grades listed below are as of the 2019-20 school year.

Session 1 & 2 | Grades 4-7

Session 1: Get energized as we design roller coasters, experiment with conservation of energy, test bird beaks and other animal features to understand how animals adapt, and experiment in chemistry, building, and more.

Session 2: Launch your creativity as we test a variety of rockets, design methods to save our world through environmental science, and experiment in chemistry, building, and more.

Try Chi

2nd–6th grade | Aug 11-14 | $349
Try Chi is the best way to get a taste of quality Jewish overnight camping. Campers meet new friends, and live in cabins with experienced, caring counselors who help them feel comfortable right away. They’ll feel the spirit of camp with cookouts, campfires, sing-alongs and great evening programs.

JCC Chicago is a non-profit organization inspired by Jewish values, bridging traditions and generations to create a more vibrant, connected community. JCC is a partner with the Jewish United Fund in serving our community.